Rattle the Stars
by May Eve
Summary: I've been reading a lot of fics here where the GoM are overprotective of Kuroko - but what if it was the other way around? (This could turn into either a proper chapter fic or just be an extended drabble collection, we'll see.)
1. Kise and The Captain

_A/N: So, finals in two days and am I prepared? No. Am I preparing? Obviously not. Is my new obsession with Kuroko no Basuke making this worth it? Hell yes. Here's the first work-product, messy as it is. Hope you all like it, despite any OOC-ness that comes of my lacking canon knowledge (only seen the anime!)._

_A/N2: Minor updates posted January 1, 2013._

Rattle the Stars (And the Shadows Will Find You)

_Chapter One: Kise and the Captain_

Kuroko glanced up at his taller companions and almost smiled at their easy bickering.

Their street game was long over and Kagami was waving down Seirin, when Kise froze and winced. Mildly concerned at the expression on Kise's face, Kuroko ignored his team's shouting to follow the blonde's eyes toward the vision of fury coming up on their left: Yukio Kasamatsu.

Standing quietly under Riko's ranting, Kuroko watched as Kise's short-tempered new captain sped in shouting about selfish disappearing acts and obsessing over old teammates, raising a fist to knock his ace around as Kuroko recalled him doing several times during their match.

As he watched, Kise seemed to forget his companions, shrinking in on himself and flinching in preparation for a blow.

Letting the smallest frown rise to his features, Kuroko ignored the sudden silence from the gathered Seirin players and _moved_ with the sort of speed he rarely bothered with off the court.

Blinking, Kasamatsu stared bemusedly at his arm and then at the unexpected force which had pressed it aside as easily as a passing basketball. Staring right back at him, that force frowned.

"I understand that Kise-kun is often frustrating and you might desire to raise a hand to him because of it, but I cannot approve taking such action, especially so frequently."

Kuroko's voice was as monotone as ever, but Kasamatsu went almost as still as Kise had just from the look in the little guy's eyes. This Kuroko had never seemed so much like a member of the Generation of Miracles as he did in that moment, looking back at Kasamatsu with empty pits for pupils and ruthless determination set in every line of his face.

He was saved, shockingly enough, by Kise, who cleared his throat from his place behind Kuroko. Laying a hand lightly on his old teammate's shoulder, the blonde spoke more quietly than Kasamatsu had thought he was capable.

"I'm alright, Kurokocchi." Smiling, small and sincere, when Kuroko looked back at him, Kise tried to break the tension with a joke, "Aominecchi hits harder."

Kuroko's frown did not fade, but it did soften some. "Aomine-kun never hit you so hard or so frequently." Kise shifted nervously on his feet, unable to argue that. Kuroko clearly did not expect a response, turning back to face Kasamatsu with his usual expressionless mien.

"You will not touch Kise-kun again. A captain should not abuse his teammates, not for any reason."

Kise choked behind him, but Kuroko did not turn around, observing the rising shame in Kaijo's captain before he replied to Kise's silent comment, "Akashi-kun never laid a hand on any of us, despite his threats. He understood his duty and treated punishments as only what they are: training."

"Do you understand me, Kasamatsu-san?" Watching, Seirin barely contained their own surprise at Kuroko's sudden sharp tone. When Kasamatsu nodded carefully, appearing truly apologetic to Kuroko's practiced eye, the smaller softened again.

Satisfied, Kuroko concluded with a last, quiet warning, "I'm glad. I do not tolerate harm to my team."

No one missed the present tense, and when Kuroko finally turned around, Kise was smiling the most genuinely any of them had seen, "You're still so overprotective, Kurokocchi."

Kuroko did not deny him, and his lips twitched, "It is not my fault you require so much extra care, Kise-kun." Unable to contain himself, Kise chuckled and threw himself on Kuroko once more. The shorter boy did not smile, but their audience noticed that this time he gently patted Kise's back before drawing away.

Pressing Kise lightly toward Kasamatsu, Kuroko watched him bounce off beside his quiet captain, as Seirin watched him in silence. This was a new side of Kuroko and none of them were sure how to feel about it, but something told them – Kuroko turned, suddenly simple and invisible again – this was only the beginning.


	2. Midorima and The Team

_A/N: Don't expect this update pattern to stick, I just had these first two parts pre-written. Should be Aomine next, if I don't go back and rehaul all of this after finals so it actually flows. Let me know what you think, please._

Rattle the Stars

_Chapter Two: Midorima and the Team_

Kuroko watched silently from Seirin's bench as certain members of Midorima's team muttered resentfully about his being shut down by Kagami. Eyeing the venom in their fists and hissed comments – _useless pain that guy why him can't even failing a joke _– Kuroko let the slightest frown rise to his features. When half time was called, he followed the mutterers with his eyes as they trailed Midorima into Shutoku's locker room.

Eyeing the special supplies he'd slipped in Riko's bag by the bench and deciding his team could make due without him for one minute, he slipped away after them, easily ignored as he crossed the edges of the court to shadow the last Shutoku player to his locker.

Unnoticed, Kuroko watched, his frown steadily growing darker as Midorima's teammates did not even twitch to defend him when the particularly antagonistic trio threatened to destroy his lucky item. They had to know how important those items were to his old teammate, and yet the other boys only reacted when the echoing _smash_ filled their rest space and Midorima's stricken shout could no longer be ignored.

Pained, Kuroko watched the immediate aftermath: Midorima dropping to his knees, shaking hands sifting into the shards of his faith, his new team only staring, half uncertain and too many smug.

He stepped up.

"Midorima-kun."

Midorima went still. Of course Kuroko would be here, against the rules or not, appearing out of thin air because he'd always known when they were hurt. Midorima did not look at him, eyes set on the ceramic shards cradled in his shaking hands.

"Midorima-kun."

He ignored the chokes and shrieks from his teammates, refusing to move, to give up any more of his pride today.

Then a hand settled firmly on his bowed head, fingers scrunching in his hair, but there was no pain; with Kuroko, there was never pain. The familiar, slight warmth settling beside him was too much – he gave in to the inevitable and looked up.

Kuroko Tetsuya was still short, scrawny, and pale, and being next to him was still the safest place in the world, as it had always been for their team. They did not smile, but Kuroko's fingers stroked once through his hair and the old affection rolled off his tongue as easily as it ever had, as if they were still just down the hall from their shared classroom, lingering to discuss a new book they'd both enjoyed.

On the court, Kuroko and Aomine may have been inseparable, but off court, Midorima and Kuroko had always shared the most.

"Shintaro, get up." Every player from the Generation of Miracles knew _the tone_ that was never to be disobeyed, the sharpness that Kuroko only ever used in their defense. Midorima rose, his eyes never straying from tiny, impossible Kuroko, who pulled his free hand from his bag and presented an exact replica of his shigaraki.

Midorima almost smiled, his hands steadying as the figure settled between them, "You came prepared, Kuroko." A raised eyebrow was the only response for a moment.

"I am always prepared for you, Shintaro."

Then Kuroko's attention shifted over his shoulder and Midorima did not need to look to know the chill that had just befallen his new team. "You are all very lucky we are in the middle of a game or I would deal with you now," Kuroko's tone never inflected, of course, and Midorima knew better than to look at him in this moment.

"There is no worse enemy than the shadow always behind you. Everyone within ten miles of Teiko understood, but it seems the rest of Japan must be taught."

There was good reason their team had so respected Kuroko, even outside a basketball court.


	3. Aomine and The Shadows

_A/N: So, this happened. Apparently, I'm much more fond of Aomine than I thought I was. Or, at least, more fond of his potential storyline. Anyway, hello wonderful Kuroko people! And when I say wonderful, I mean WONDERFUL. You lot are officially tied for my favorite fandom ever (with Batman, of course). I love writing for small fandoms, there's so much spare love to go around and you guys have been awesome. Your awesomeness helped inspire this monster (by my standards) chapter and I hope you enjoy it - there's more to come! I'll even try to be timely about it._

Rattle the Stars

_Chapter Three: Aomine and the Shadows_

It was as devastating a loss as he had expected.

Tetsu's style was just never a match against him and Aomine _hated _that fact on some level he refused to acknowledge, because he respected Kuroko Tetsuya probably more than anyone else alive. Even under awful circumstances, Tetsu had never backed down and never given up. Yet, it wasn't enough.

Tetsu's style was only as good as his team, and there wasn't a team in Japan that could match him, Aomine brooded as his – no, _Touou's_ – team made their usual post-win ruckus. He only tuned back in to their babbling when that moron from the bench started talking about Seirin Number Eleven: Kuroko Tetsuya.

"And we thought Seirin was so strong! Especially that number eleven, he was incredibly weak. He still was trying to fight in the end, probably has some mental issue or something. Isn't it better to give up earlier?"

Before he could even consider it, Aomine was up and _furious_, like he hadn't been in months. How dare this waste of air talk about Tetsu, talk about giving up like _he knew anything at all_—

"A bastard who's benched should shut the fuck up!" Aomine roared in the kid's choking face, Satsuki shouting for him to stop somewhere in the background noise, but Aomine couldn't hear her, couldn't hear anything but this stupid fuck's stupid opinions and his stupid choking breaths because Aomine was holding the kid up like he weighed nothing and he hadn't even realized, certainly couldn't care, but—

A pale hand wrapped around his wrist.

"Aomine-kun, put him down." Tetsu did not sound surprised or alarmed at all, Aomine noticed as the red haze abruptly lifted and he dropped the gasping kid like the pathetic trash he was. His fist was still clenching on thin air, but Tetsu hadn't let go, just guided his arm down gently because Tetsu had always been too patient with him.

Aomine refused to look for a moment, and then snorted at his childishness, glancing down. Tetsu looked calm, but tired.

"What are you doing here, Tetsu?" Aomine asked roughly, though he knew the answer well. Tetsu had always had a sixth sense for when he was about to go off the deep end, though that hadn't been such a problem before basketball became a chore instead of a joy. He ignored the shrieks of surprise from Touou and Satsuki's grateful squeals behind him – the team didn't matter and Satsuki was too predictable.

"Please watch your temper, Aomine-kun," Tetsu ignored the question. Aomine snorted and Tetsu just looked at him serenely, if a little sadly. After a minute of staring at his old partner, Aomine huffed out something that might have been acquiescence and was at least enough to erase some of the sadness from Tetsu's pale face for the minute. Turning, Aomine stomped through the parting seas of Touou's team, grabbing his bag and swinging it over his shoulder.

"Shouldn't you be with Seirin, Tetsu?" There was no immediate reply and Aomine glanced back at his old partner, who watched him silently before answering.

"They do not need me right now." Something near that unmentionable level in Aomine shrank back from the words, though he couldn't have said why.

"Might as well walk with me then," Aomine shrugged and headed for the door, certain beyond any doubt that Tetsu would follow him. Their progress was halted by that loudmouth Wakamatsu and Aomine barely held in the urge to pound the guy. Tetsu was standing right next to him now and he knew it wouldn't go over well.

"What the hell, Aomine, where the hell do you think you're going? We've got a game tonight and another tomorrow, you can't just go off and sleep!" Wakamatsu shouted right into his face and Aomine, noticing the tiny frown forming on Kuroko's face, decided to end this quickly.

With his usual bored drawl, he stepped easily around the blonde, "Back the fuck off, man. You guys don't need me for those games. I only even came today because you were facing Tetsu's team." Slightly amused by the rising red of the guy's face, Aomine glanced back at Tetsu and tilted his head to the door.

Tetsu nodded and stepped by Wakamatsu to follow him, when the stupid blonde had the nerve to grab Tetsu's arm in what had to be a bruising grip. Leaning down to get right in Tetsu's face, Wakamatsu was practically spitting with fury.

"And who the hell are you? We just beat you, Seirin, and now you show up in our locker room and steal our ace! Where the fuck do you get off—" Aomine had felt something in his chest turn cold and hard the moment the stupid blonde dared put a hand on Tetsu, but one look and the tiny frown on Tetsu's face kept him still. To distract himself, he looked up and eyed the rest of Touou's team to see if they would cause any trouble.

While a lot of them were staring, only the captain was watching him rather than Wakamatsu, and rather than looking angry, he just looked thoughtful.

Aomine turned back when he heard a choke and a stumble before him, unsurprised to see that Kuroko had easily slipped from Wakamatsu's grasp and now stood at Aomine's side, facing the blonde's back. Quietly, he offered, "You should really work on your temper, Wakamatsu-san. Your team will not survive with the both of you throwing tantrums."

It took Aomine a second to realize Tetsu was also talking about him and then he scowled down at his old partner, "Oi, Tetsu!" Tetsu looked up at him, expressionless, "Aomine-kun," and Aomine knew that tone of half teasing, half reprimand, too well. When he just huffed and turned away, he didn't need to see it to know there was a tiny smile on Tetsu's face.

A polite voice interrupted his sulking just as he was going to stomp out the door, and he and Tetsu both turned to Touou's captain.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe I caught your name." To Aomine's surprise, Imayoshi was looking straight at Tetsu, who responded politely, "I am Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Ah, and you were on Aomine's team in middle school?" Tetsu nodded, "Yes, we both attended Teiko."

"I don't suppose you'd care to share your secret with his new team? He seems to listen to you, at least, and his attitude is causing problems even on a team like ours." Aomine's jaw practically dropped and he just knew Satsuki was giggling into her clipboard somewhere at the back. Tetsu was just looking over Imayoshi thoughtfully.

"Oi, there is no secret!" Aomine interrupted their little stare-off and seriously? Where the fuck did this guy get off? "I'm not a dog, bastard, you want me to listen to you, you'll have to earn some respect! So either turn into Tetsu or start carrying scissors." Aomine snorted at the last and he just knew Tetsu was laughing on the inside.

Turning to _finally_ leave, Aomine growled as stupid Wakamatsu just had to open his stupid mouth, "What the hell! Are you saying you respect this Kuroko when he just lost—" Aomine was moving before he knew it, the red haze coming back, but Tetsu was already between them, one hand behind him to press against Aomine's raised arm. He looked up at Wakamatsu and interrupted as calmly as ever.

"Please do not finish that sentence." Imayoshi appeared behind the blonde at that point, wrapping an arm over his head and choking him to sputtering silence with a smile and a short bow.

"Thank you, Kuroko-kun." Tetsu just looked at him, and for a moment Aomine saw something cold in those empty blue eyes.

"You have nothing to thank me for. You think I am acting to protect your team from Aomine, but you do not understand. I am protecting Aomine only, even from himself." That something in his chest froze up again, and Aomine just stared down at Kuroko's blue mop as he bowed politely to Imayoshi and then tugged Aomine from the room with the hand that had never released his arm.

When he was still frozen out in the hall, Tetsu sighed and tugged gently on his arm, stepping close enough to look straight up at his eyes. "Come, Aomine-kun. You were meaning to head home?"

Aomine nodded automatically and then shook himself, "Yeah. Yeah, let's get out of here." And then he was walking, taking short enough strides for Tetsu to keep pace without even thinking about it. The next half hour passed without them speaking more than ten words apiece as they walked the half mile to the train station and caught the afternoon ride to his neighborhood.

They mostly dozed on the ride, though Aomine woke up enough at one point to ask what Tetsu was doing with him when his team still had games to play. Tetsu explained that Seirin's next two games were tomorrow and Aomine nodded sleepily, stretching out on his seat, before red marks on Tetsu's hand caught his attention.

Swearing violently, he leaned forward and snatched that pale hand off Tetsu's lap, holding it up in the light.

"Are these from that bastard Wakamatsu?" He growled. Tetsu shook his head, too used to Aomine's roughness to be bothered by the manhandling.

"No, I punched a wall." Aomine stared at him for a moment, and then their earlier game seemed to seep through the haze of red and sleep in his brain.

"Oh." Lips twitching, Tetsu pulled his arm back easily and suggested Aomine lay back down. Shaking his head as if to clear it, Aomine did so and fell asleep again despite the cold in his chest that refused to thaw.

Tetsu woke him at his stop and he shuffled out, yawning, behind the shorter figure. As they stumbled out into the sunlight and started walking down his street, Aomine's sleepy thoughts were interrupted by Tetsu speaking.

"You know I dislike you living in this neighborhood." Aomine groaned, stretching to try and wake himself up for this conversation. Cracking his neck to each side, he took in the familiar sight of his rundown district. Every building was old in this part of town and there were few large or pleasant businesses.

"I know, Tetsu, but at least no one bothers me here and it's the best I can afford on my own." Tetsu sighed quietly, but did not argue. It's not like even the rough types in this neighborhood would trouble someone as large and obviously strong as Aomine.

Aomine sighed, too, and offered, "Besides, at least it's away from my dad." Tetsu nodded to that, and Aomine frowned at the tension that always strung his old partner too tight at the mention of his old man.

"Relax, Tetsu," Aomine slapped a hand on the shorter's shoulder. "With what I've heard from home, he'll probably drink himself to death soon enough."

Tetsu shook his head at him, but he did relax some and too soon Aomine realized they were at his apartment. Knowing Tetsu would refuse to come in even if he offered – he was too polite by half – Aomine stopped on the steps, looking down even farther than usual to meet Tetsu's eyes. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't let them walk back to the train station alone, but no one would even notice Tetsu long enough to cause trouble for him.

It wasn't like anyone else ever followed him home, either.

Feeling the awkwardness of goodbyes rising in him, Aomine patted Tetsu's shoulder again and glanced away as he muttered, "Take care of yourself, Tetsu."

Staring up at him without any sign of strain, Tetsu was silent for a long moment. The sorrow had crept back into his face, Aomine noticed, but knew he could do nothing to fix it.

"Sleep well, Aomine-kun. And please watch your temper." Before he could even huff out a reponse, Tetsu was gone and Aomine sagged against the door before stalking up the stairs to his apartment.

He was being silly. It wasn't like he wouldn't see Tetsu again.


	4. Interlude: The Aftermath

_A/N: Not even a whole month between chapters, so I'm going to consider this 'timely'. There are a few requests met here (you know who you are), so I hope those requesters enjoy the extras. Again, written just an hour ago so I apologize for the state and hope you're all satisfied anyway. Let me know!_

Rattle the Stars

**_Interlude: The Aftermath, or Hope and the Boys_**

Imayoshi stared at the swinging door thoughtfully, ignoring the sputtered curses from the boy in his chokehold. Finally releasing Wakamatsu and turning back to the room, he asked his newly quiet team, "Does anyone know anything about this Kuroko Tetsuya?"

He watched as they glanced between each other, bewildered, and tried not to remember the look on Aomine's face as his friend dragged him out. He'd never seen Aomine be anything but overwhelmingly self-confident, yet this Kuroko had shattered him with a few words and a loose grip – it was more than disconcerting.

As captain, Imayoshi's first thought had been that he could use this; his second that he wouldn't dare. That Kuroko kid defending his own was probably the most worrisome thing he'd ever witnessed, and he'd met Akashi Seijuro.

His musings were thankfully interrupted by Momoi stepping forward. While not as laser-focused as she was in a game, he was surprised by how solemnly she faced him now.

"Tetsu-kun will take care of Aomine-kun as well as anyone can, Imayoshi-san. That's really all you need to know." Every line of her face said she would not yield another word of information and Imayoshi nodded easily. This was one mystery he would have to wait to solve, it seemed, but he'd guess she really had just told him everything he needed to know about Kuroko Tetsuya.

_He will take care of them._

* * *

Takao frowned at his shoes, half his attention on the familiar road, the rest on the steady breathing beside him. They were walking for once and he was considering taking advantage of the extra breath to ask a question that had been bothering him for a while.

His companion sighed, adjusting his glasses in a show of exasperation, "Whatever it is, just say it, Takao. My horoscope warned I would be faced with unexpected questions today and your thinking face looks painful." Takao just snorted at the insult, rolling over the words in his head and deciding he might as well take advantage of Midorima's superstitions.

"Ah, it's nothing so bad, Shin-chan. I was just wondering about your old teammate – the one that gave you the replacement lucky item when those jerks broke it during the game. Which, by the way, I don't get; I swear, I leave for two minutes to use the facilities and I miss the whole show." Midorima had gone stiff at his side in the first part, but relaxed enough to roll his eyes at the second.

Takao let him hold his silence and think for the next minute, before he started getting fidgety. Midorima ignored him a few more seconds and then sighed again.

"Kuroko was at Teiko, as you know. He was on our team and known as the Phantom Sixth Player – I'm certain you remember his lack of presence." Takao barked out a laugh. 'Lack of presence' was a severe understatement; the kid was practically invisible. Midorima glared at him for the interruption, but Takao just waved him on with a smile.

His friend's horoscope must have said something particularly positive about _answering_ the unexpected questions, because Midorima did without further prompting.

"I don't know what exactly you want to hear about him, so be more specific." Okay, so the tsundere was still obviously sulky, but he hadn't shut down yet. Takao thought fast.

"I guess what I want to know is what happened and why. I mean, I've heard the others talk about the locker room incident, but I've only met the guy a few times and I can't really imagine some of the things they described." Takao twitched under Midorima's raised eyebrow, elaborating in a rush of words, all his curiosity and confusion spilling out in a mess.

"—I just mean that some of them have said he was actually scary or something, and that he threatened them, and those three that broke your item have practically dropped out of school since. They keep twitching when they're here and, and I might have heard one of them say this Kuroko called you Shintaro but you don't let anyone call you Shintaro and they say you listened to him and it all sounds crazy—"

Midorima finally slapped a hand over his tag-along's mouth when it looked like he wasn't planning to slow down any time soon.

"Alright." Ignoring the sheepish face at his left, Midorima considered a moment and then started explaining as much as he could. Even beyond the promised good fortune for his uncharacteristic openness, he felt oddly compelled to defend Kuroko, to explain to his crazy new not-friend who Kuroko was, how important he was.

"I will never speak of this again, so be quiet and listen well." He fidgeted with his bandages under Takao's wide eyes, and continued, "Kuroko Tetsuya was Teiko's – was _our_ – secret ace. We were always talented, but before we became the Generation of Miracles as you know them today, Kuroko Tetsuya was the one to carry us to victory. On and off the court, he held the team together. Last minute scoring because he slipped past impossible defenses was just the beginning. To this day, I do not know what we did to deserve it, but somehow our team found itself under Kuroko's protection."

Midorima stared blankly at the road, allowing himself to remember as he hadn't in a long while.

"Off the court, Kuroko had some sort of sixth sense for when he was needed. Aomine lost his temper, Kuroko was there; Kise was harassed by his fans or his manager, Kuroko would help him disappear; when my lucky item seemed impossible or Murasakibara ran out of snacks or Akashi ran out of patience, Kuroko was always prepared to protect us, even from ourselves."

He glanced up at the blue of the sky, grateful for the silence from his typically boisterous company.

"Things changed. We changed, he changed, I don't know which anymore, but the Generation of Miracles fell apart without Kuroko able to balance us. What happened that day is simply proof that he is too stubborn to let go."

An involuntary smile rose to his lips and he let it stay for a moment, "Of course, he wouldn't be Kuroko if he just gave up."

He shook himself, returning to Takao's question smoothly, "Whatever you might have heard is probably true. Kuroko does have permission to call me by my name and I'm certain he was quite intimidating. With his lack of presence, he tends to be underestimated, but he is still very much one of us – and our team was called monstrous as often as it was called genius."

Midorima cut himself off with a mental grimace, feeling he'd said more than enough, and Takao was quietly thoughtful. They had almost made it to Takao's street when he broke the silence once more.

"So, your friend's overprotective. Does that mean he's the reason those guys left the team and have been so twitchy?" The smile that rose to his friend's lips was truly frightening and Takao took an involuntary step back.

"I wouldn't implicate anyone, of course, and those fools could well have just handled the stress of high school poorly, but I will say theirs was not so uncommon a fate for similar fools back at Teiko. Kuroko takes his responsibilities very seriously."

* * *

In Kaijo High School's basketball gym, the first string restrained a collective wince at the force of Kise's latest dunk. He'd been practicing on his own for the last hour, after showing up late with only four words of curt explanation: Seirin lost to Touou.

As the hoop started creaking and groaning ominously, Kasamatsu finally had enough. Stepping up, he snatched the ball out of Kise's tight grip and pinned the blonde with a glare. Kise didn't precisely wilt, but the fire in his gut seemed to finally burn out. Kasamatsu shouted over his shoulder for everyone else to get on with practice, and when he was certain they would have some modicum of privacy, he asked.

"What the hell was that?" Kise shifted restlessly, and finally explained in a quiet voice Kasamatsu had only heard once before.

"Aominecchi has gotten stronger. A lot stronger. Kurokocchi was—" In an alarmingly out of character move, Kise cut himself off and wordlessly swiped the ball back into his own hands. Kasamatsu watched him for a moment before asking again, just as quiet, "What happened?"

Kise met his eyes and there was something so sad there, Kasamatsu almost looked away.

"Kurokocchi and Aominecchi were partners, back at Teiko. I've always admired Aominecchi, but he can be…harsh. Even cruel. I've never seen him be that way to any of us and I just, I never expected him to be so mean to Kurokocchi." Kasamatsu thought back to the fierce little guy that put him in his place, defending his team as ferociously as any guard dog, and thought privately that Kuroko could probably take care of himself.

Kise turned his eyes back to the basketball in his hands, rolling it gently between his palms as he seemed to consider his next words. Quieter than any before them, the words eventually came.

"I have to get stronger. Kurokocchi protects us, but I think he needs a little help with Aominecchi." Kise bit his lip, "And, I know they really respect each other and Aominecchi doesn't respect many people, so I want to beat him before he really hurts Kurokocchi."

All the uncertainty fell from Kise's face abruptly as he turned away from Kaijo's captain.

"He can't be allowed to hurt Kurokocchi. Kurokocchi is our hope."


End file.
